Thanos (Earth-616)
Master, Thanos Rex, Masterlord, Overmaster, Chins | Identity = No Dual | Alignment = Bad | Affiliation = ; formerly leader of the , ally of the ; formerly , , , numerous armies | Relatives = A'Lars (father); Sui-San (mother, deceased); Eros (brother); Uranos (great-uncle) Kronos (paternal grandfather, deceased); Daina (paternal grandmother, deceased); Zuras (uncle, deceased); Thena (cousin); Gamora (foster daughter); Nebula (alleged granddaughter); Rot ("child" by Death); Thane (son); Several children (deceased) | Universe = Earth-616 | BaseOfOperations = Ultimate Universe; formerly Necropolis, Wakanda; Sanctuary II, Titan | Gender = Male | Height = 6'7" | Weight = 985 lbs | Eyes = Red | Hair = No Hair | UnusualSkinColour = Purple | UnusualFeatures = Furrowed chin | Citizenship = Titan | MaritalStatus = Single | Occupation = Conqueror, worshiper of Death; former pirate, nihilist, god, knowledge-seeker | Education = Formal Titanian education | Origin = Mutant Titanian, ; Nebula born with the Deviant gene ("Deviant Syndrome") | PlaceOfBirth = Titan | PlaceOfDeath = | Creators = Jim Starlin; Mike Friedrich | First = | Quotation = Am I not Thanos?! Did I not butcher the woman who gave me birth, who forced me into this hell called life? Is not the wake of my passing crimson with the blood of my enemies and allies alike?! Death is with me every second of the day! | Speaker = Thanos | QuoteSource = Infinity Gauntlet Vol 1 2 | HistoryText = Early Years Thanos was one of the last sons of A'Lars, progenitor of the second colony of Eternals on Titan, and Sui-San, the last survivor of the original settlement of Eternals on Titan. Born with grey, hide-like skin and a massive body due to being born with the Deviant Syndrome, Thanos was a morose child who became obsessed with the concept of death. Through bionic implementation and long hours of meditation, Thanos augmented his Eternal strengths and powers so that his abilities surpassed those of all other Titanian Eternals. As he grew in power, Thanos also grew in ambition and desire for conquest. Thanos stole one of his people's starships and traveled to other star systems to recruit soldiers, mercenaries, and malcontents for a private army. With a small fleet, he dropped nuclear devices on his home world Titan, killing thousands of his people, including his mother Sui-San. Declaring himself ruler of Titan, he then set his sights on Earth. At some point in his adult life, Thanos met the embodiment of Death itself who, in female form, became Thanos' companion. It is probable that Death was attracted to Thanos by both his philosophical dedication to nihilism as well as his willingness to commit genocide on even his own people. Thanos began, for the first time in his life, to experience love for another being, although the being was just a manifestation of Death. To make himself worthy of so awesome an entity, Thanos decided to acquire more power. At first he planned simply to seize political power through the conquest of worlds. To this end, he amassed a huge armada of battleships. Then he found a way to amplify immeasurably his personal power. Having kept the planet Earth under surveillance since it first exploded a nuclear weapon, Thanos learned of a power-object called the Cosmic Cube brought into existence by the subversive organization, Advanced Idea Mechanics. Thanos seized control of the reality-altering device and commanded it to give him control over the universe. Transformed into a godlike wraith by the Cosmic Cube, Thanos battled the Avengers and the Kree Captain Marvel, the former of whom had already vanquished his armada. When Thanos carelessly discarded the Cube, believing falsely that he had drained it of all power, Mar-Vell struck the cube, willing it to restore the universe to what it had been. Robbed of power, Thanos reverted to mortal form in the center of the universe where his flagship Sanctuary II retrieved him under pre-programmed instructions. Revived, Thanos was dejected to discover that Death had abandoned him because of his failure. Quest for the Soul Gems Thanos soon formulated a plan to regain Death's affection: he would give to "her" more than any single living being had given "her," the annihilation of everything that lives. Through the minds and records of countless civilizations he searched, hoping to find the key to the power he sought. Eventually he learned of the Soul Gems, six power objects of unknown origin and vast power, and set about to acquire them. In short order he had obtained all of the Soul Gems except one: the jade jewel worn on the head of Adam Warlock. Thanos feared to acquire Warlock's gem directly because it possessed the power to steal souls, and he feared to risk forfeiting his own. Observing him, Thanos learned that Warlock had diverged a temporal counterpart named the Magus, who was the head of a galaxy wide religious empire and would certainly oppose Thanos' schemes of stellar destruction were he to learn of them. Thanos thus planned to eliminate the Magus. Possessing the capacity for time travel, Thanos decided to set up certain factors in the time stream which, combined, might prove the Magus' undoing. (He could have tried to thwart Warlock's life well before the critical time he would/wouldn't become the Magus, but he needed Warlock to remain the Soul Gem's possessor for simplicity's sake). One of these factors was the rescuing of the infant Gamora, a female of the pacifistic Zen-Whoberis race that was slaughtered by the Magus' missionary troops. She would serve as Thanos' personal assassin. The second major factor would be Thanos' own direct alliance with Warlock against the Magus . Neither of these factors existed in the original time-line that led to the Magus' creation; thus, Thanos hoped to diverge a reality wherein Warlock never became the Magus . Thanos succeeded, and while in close proximity to Warlock, siphoned from his Soul Gem the energies he needed without Warlock's knowledge. Thanos then constructed a single huge synthetic Soul Gem to hold the energies of the six. With it, he planned to extinguish the stars one by one. Gamora learned of his plan of destruction and tried to assassinate him, but Thanos slew her. Thanos also slew Warlock's comrade Pip the Troll. Warlock had by this time learned of Thanos' threat and traveled to Earth to enlist the aid of the Avengers and Captain Marvel. In battle aboard Thanos' starship Sanctuary II, Captain Marvell damaged Thanos' projector through which he transmitted the synthetic Soul Gem's energies into suns to cause them to go nova. Warlock faced Thanos in personal combat and was slain. The Avengers were taken captive by Thanos, but rescued by Spider-Man and the Thing. Spider-Man, influenced by the abstract entities Lord Chaos and Master Order, released Warlock's spirit from the Soul Gem Warlock had worn, and seething with cosmic power released through his physical death, Warlock grappled with Thanos and turned the mad Titan to immobile stone. Incapacitated, Thanos retained a fragment of his consciousness and was thus tortured by the fact that he who worshiped death would forever be denied it. Resurrection of Thanos However, it seems that Thanos did die and was resurrected by Death. Thanos met with the Silver Surfer shortly after his return and tried to sway the Sentinel of the Spaceways to his way of thinking, but failed. After toying with the Surfer for a time, Thanos faked his own death so that he could continue his plans without disturbances. Thanos Quest After his resurrection, in Death's realm, Thanos gazed into the Infinity Well and discovered the true powers of the Soul Gems, which he now dubbed the Infinity Gems. Since his previous defeat, these had been given to various Elder Beings. Using science and his unmatched cunning, Thanos was able to retrieve the green Soul Gem from the In-Betweener, the red Power Gem from the Champion, the orange Time Gem from the the Gardener, the purple Space Gem from The Runner, the yellow Reality Gem from the Collector and the blue Mind Gem from the Grandmaster. Putting all the Gems onto his massive glove, Thanos created the Infinity Gauntlet, giving him mastery of all that is. Infinity Gauntlet Using the massive power now in his possession, Thanos toyed with the Silver Surfer for a time before allowing him to warn the Earth's heroes of Thanos' coming. In order to appease death, Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet to remove half of the population of the universe, causing dire consequences in his actions. As the heroes assembled, Adam Warlock's soul escaped from the Soul Gem, along with Gamora and Pip the Troll, and possessed the bodies of three humans who had recently died. The collected heroes battled Thanos, aided by the Cosmic entities Love, Hate, the Stranger, Epoch, Chaos, Order, and Galactus. But despite the assembled forces, Thanos was able to defeat all and imprison them. In the process, though, he overlooked his grandniece Nebula who was able to wrest the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos' hand. Her first act was to undo all that has occurred, which inadvertently freed the heroes and the cosmic entities. The battle resumed, and in the end it was Adam Warlock who finally possessed the Gauntlet, ending the conflict. After Thanos obtained and lost the Infinity Gauntlet, he was led to a period of introspection. Adam Warlock recognized that Thanos' efforts to obtain omnipotence had been thwarted not only by the intervention of superheroes but by Thanos' own self-doubt and anxiety. Believing the Titan to be capable of change - and wishing to keep Thanos where he could keep an eye on him - Warlock made Thanos a member of the Infinity Watch, giving him the Reality Gem, one of the Infinity Gems which Adam Warlock and the Watch now guarded.Behind-the-scenes in . Thanos revealed to possess the Reality Gem in . Infinity War Eventually Thanos detected a threat to the universe, as the embodiment of time itself was rendered catatonic. Tracking the source to the revived Magus, Thanos sought the help of Adam Warlock and the Infinity Watch. Thanos and the Infinity Watch traveled to the realm of Death to learn the truth about the Magus, and found that he was attempting to replace this reality's heroes (and indeed, all reality itself) with evil doppelgänger versions of his own. Returning to reality, Thanos and the Infinity Watch were attacked by an assemblage of doppelgängers before the true threat of the Magus could be revealed. Taking the fight to the Magus, Warlock reassembled the Infinity Gauntlet in order to match the combined might of the five Cosmic Cubes possessed by the Magus, although ultimately Magus would gain the Infinity Gauntlet for himself. During the battle, Thanos was pitted against his doppelgänger, who had become the Magus' most favored lackey, and in defeating it, gained insight into Magus' schemes. Confronting him, Thanos pointed out that Magus didn't, in fact, have the full power of the Infinity Gauntlet, as the Reality Gem was actually an elaborate fake. Rattled, the Magus was then thwarted by the embodiment's of Eternity and Infinity, and the Infinity Gems were restored to their owners. Thanos then returned to wandering the cosmos. Infinity Crusade Some time later, Thanos and Warlock were trapped in the folds of a shifting reality, due to the appearance of the Goddess, which was Warlock's manifestation of his "good side" that had appropriated the power of the five Cosmic Cubes previously used by the Magus. Warlock eventually freed himself and Thanos. Thanos embarked on a mission to learn about the Goddess and determine what threat she posed to reality. The two were soon contacted by the demon Mephisto, and Thanos agreed to let Mephisto aid them in exchange for a Cosmic Cube of his own. Warlock had a plan of his own, and before bodily entering the Soul Gem, he gave it to Thanos. Thanos, in turn, assembled a contingency of reality's heroes in order to distract the Goddess. Thanos however seemingly failed, and the Goddess began to destroy the universe one star at a time. In reality the destruction was an illusion generated by Warlock, who had used the Cosmic Cubes to create a universe-wide mass-hallucination. Distracted, the Goddess was defeated by Thanos and the assemblage of Earth's heroes. Thanos destroyed the "Cosmic Egg" that held the cubes, for which act Warlock tried to paint the Titan a hero. Thanos even honored his bargain with Mephisto, giving him a Cosmic Cube, albeit one without power. Later, when the thunder god Thor apparently went insane, Thanos was contacted by the Silver Surfer to stop the mad god's rampage. Thanos succeeded where the Surfer, the Infinity Watch, Doctor Strange, and the other Asgardian gods could not. This led the assembled group to Asgard, where they came into conflict with Odin. Thanos battled Odin until the god learned the truth, revived Thor, and allowed Thanos and the heroes to leave Asgard with his and Thor's gratitude. The Oracle Soon after these events, Thanos became bored and decided to look for the vast storehouse of knowledge called the Oracle. To assist him, Thanos recruited several unwilling allies, which included the second Super-Skrull, Nitro, the Rhino, and the Titanium Man. After they accomplished his goals, Thanos stranded them. After slaughtering the entire Ovin Mercenary Army just for something to do, Thanos used the Oracle to search for a worthy adversary. He believed he found one in Tyrant, first spawn of the world-devouring Galactus. With the help of the former Herald known as Terrax, he kidnapped Tyrant's arch-enemy and recent opponent, Ganymede. The hero Jack of Hearts, Ganymede's lover, recruited Genis-Vell to help free her. Ganymede, in the meantime, had joined Thanos and Terrax, in order to extract revenge on Tyrant. The trio battled Morg, Galactus' most deadly Herald and forced lackey of Tyrant, who eventually escaped. Jack of Hearts, Legacy, Ganymede and Terrax could not defeat the Tyrant. Thanos, who briefly fled the scene in order to learn the truth about Tyrant's origins, returned to battle Tyrant himself (with the help of one of Tyrant's own "power orbs" which contained the energies siphoned from Morg), laying waste to a sizable portion of Tyrant's planet. Thanos emerged from the battle declaring that, since he had withstood the powerful Tyrant for a time and gained what he sought from him, further struggle was pointless (and admitted it would likely have resulted in his own destruction). The Silver Surfer, later, sought out Thanos in order to discern Death's motives for plaguing him with images of death with the obvious intent on making him her new consort. Enraged, Thanos beat the Surfer to death and delivered his body to Death's realm himself. Believing Death to be unappreciative, Thanos revived the Surfer and sought to leave, further insulting Death who cursed the Titan with immortality, forever barring him from her embrace. Others would continually come in and out of Thanos' life. Gamora returned to Thanos' side, forsaking her relationship with Adam Warlock and the Infinity Watch. The computer intelligence know as Quasimodo took over Sanctuary II and use it to capture and torment the Silver Surfer and Spider-Man before being ousted by Thanos, who declared the two heroes owed him a debt. Thanos then became trapped in a pocket-dimension that he was investigating. Separated from his source of cosmic energy, he was only able to contact normal reality mentally through a genetically engineered creature called Consumption. Consumption then contacted the Plunderer, brother of the hero Ka-Zar to serve Thanos, and converted its own body into a gateway to the pocket dimension containing Thanos, destroying itself in the process. The Plunderer entered and contacted Thanos directly, who promised him to ruler-ship over a lifeless Earth. The Plunderer used the terraforming devices of the Antarctic paradise known as the Savage Land to begin to re-shape the Earth, a process, which began to re-power Thanos. The Plunderer was ultimately confronted by Ka-Zar, but not before Thanos managed to absorb the energies of the pocket-dimension and the terraforming devices. Filled with power, Thanos began to affect the entire galaxy with his new-found primeval energies and opened various portals throughout the universe. Thanos and the Plunderer were forced to pursue Ka-Zar through rapidly shifting areas of the cosmos, as Ka-Zar had stolen the key for the terraforming machines' power. Ultimately, Thanos, tired of the Plunderer and abandoned him on an unidentified world. Thanos' strength, however, had been depleted and Ka-Zar managed to turn the tables on him by knocking him into an active volcano in the Savage Land. Destroying the key to the terraforming machines, Thanos leaped into the device, hoping to recover his source of power, as the device was destroyed by agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Thanos was apparently trapped once more in the pocket-dimension. Soon, however, Thanos discovered a possible exit from the pocket dimension along the mystical Ley-line nexus points. He mentally contacted the monstrous Hulk, who was anguished over the recent death of his wife Elizabeth Ross. Thanos attempted to trick the Hulk into becoming a vessel for Thanos' mind, but was overheard at another Ley-line nexus by Nate Grey, also known as the X-Man. Nate attempted to convince the Hulk to refuse, and ended up locating the Hulk and battling him. Thanos instead used Nate as his physical vessel as the Hulk attacked anew. In the course of battle, the mystical barriers that separated the two dimensions were shattered, freeing Thanos. Ultimately, the X-Man and the Hulk managed to exile Thanos to the pocket dimension yet again. Later on, it was revealed that this individual (along others) was actually a clone and not the original Thanos. Search for the Designate Later, somehow free of the pocket-dimension, Thanos appeared in Asgard as it lay in ruins with many of its warriors defeated by the powerful Mangog. Thanos found an ally in Odin's aide, Tarakis, who helped him to obtain the apocalyptic Map of All-Ending from Odin. Already possessing the Chalice of Ruins, Thanos believed the two objects would help him to find the being known as the Designate. Thanos and Tarakis collected their other ally, Mangog, who had just defeated Thor, and traveled to the planet Rigel-3, home of a peace-loving race of thinkers and dreamers. Once there, Thanos teleported Mangog to the surface, and the hulking behemoth began to destroy everything in sight. Thanos demanded the Fire Gem, the next item required find the Designate in order to stop Mangog's rampage. He was ultimately successful, although Rigel was nearly laid to waste in the process. Thor promptly traced Thanos' route, and allied himself with the Rigellians, Recorder and Firelord, the former Herald of Galactus. Thanos and Mangog managed to collect the final items and captured the Designate, a woman named Tarene. As Thor and his allies battled Thanos and his allies, Tarene began to weep for her champion, Thor, an action that granted Thanos the power of Ragnarok. Before Thanos could truly begin Ragnarok, Thor killed Mangog and was given apparel to supply him with the Odin-Force. Thor and his allies battled Thanos once again. As Thanos fell, Tarene wept again for the lives of all those slain by Thanos. As written, she flung her tears upon the fallen Titan, who burst into an all-consuming hellfire, seeming vanquished forever. In reality, Thanos was not destroyed. He soon confronted Marlo Jones, the wife of Rick Jones, associate of the then-current Captain Marvel, Genis-Vell. Thanos revealed that Marlo had become the physical refuge for the embodiment of Death and as such, was the target of the death god known as the Walker. Convincing Thor to help them, Thanos, alongside Thor and Captain Marvel, was able to keep the Walker from killing Marlo. Ultimately, Death itself defeated the Walker. Infinity Abyss During a reunion with his old allies/foes Adam Warlock and Gamora, Thanos revealed he had created a series of duplicates of himself, dubbed Thanosi. These duplicates were unstable in different ways, explaining Thanos's uncharacteristic behavior and power levels in recent months. Thanos indicated that the "Thanos" who recently confronted Ka-Zar, Thor, Captain Marvel, and the Celestial Madonna had each actually been one of his Thanosi duplicates. Annihilation During the Annihilation Wave's attack on the universe Thanos joined forces with Annihilus. Many speculated as to why the Mad Titan would play the role of underling until he later explained to Moondragon that he had grown tired of the same life cycles playing out and was simply curious to see how a radical shift in the universe would play out. He was instrumental in capturing Galactus and using him to power the Wave's forces. Upon Moondragon's revelation that Annihilus' intentions were not conquest but for the universe wide extinction of both our universe and the Negative Zone, Thanos decided to release Galactus. Before he could finish the process, Drax The Destroyer punched through his chest, removing his heart. Just before Drax's arrival, Thanos saw Death, so it is assumed that he is really dead this time. The spirit of Thanos and Death later appeared and watched Nova after he killed Annihilus. Thanos Imperative Thanos was resurrected and made unkillable by Death. Together with a few other heroes he traveled into the Cancerverse, a universe where Life had "won" and death no longer existed; in order to fight the lord Mar-Vel, that universe's avatar of Life. He feigned submission to Mar-Vel who ran him through with his sword, believing it would kill him. However, this summoned Death who proceeded to kill Mar-Vel and all the other immortal denizens of the Cancerverse. Thanos begged her to take him with her but she left him and he flew into a rage vowing to kill the Universe. Nova and Peter Quill attempted to hold him back long enough for the Cancerverse to collapse and destroy him, thus buying time for the other heroes to go back to their universe. They succeeded and Thanos was trapped in the collapsing Cancerverse. Avengers Assemble Returning to the prime Universe through undisclosed means, Thanos next sought to gain control of Earth, an inter-galactically agreed-upon "off limits" territory. Running a gambit to amass the vast array of cosmic-level weapons found there, he reconstituted a new version of the Zodiac as his localized cats-paws, managing to collect a Cosmic Cube. His machinations were inadvertently stumbled upon by an irregular assemblage of Avengers including the Hulk. The heroes' ranks were soon bolstered by the Guardians of the Galaxy, pursuing Thanos's activities through their own deep-space investigations, arriving at Thanos' base in the Badoon's homeland. After the heroes were left at the mercy of the the vacuum of space, Thanos activated the Cube. After Thanos defeated the Elders of the Universe, to impose his supremacy, he became one with the Cosmic Cube and killed the Avengers and the Guardians as well. But actually, they were sent to the Cancerverse along with the Elders. There, Tony Stark found that Thanos' weapon wasn't actually a Cosmic Cube and that it had defects. They bargained with the Collector, in exchange for a weapon capable of deactivating the "Cube" and return to Earth, the Avengers and the Guardians would let Thanos be defeated by the Elders. With the help of other members of the Avengers, Thanos was defeated and sent to punishment by the Elders. Infinity Whether he escaped or was let out from his punishment, Thanos was seen again in Titan, sensing the activation of the Infinity Gauntlet by the Illuminati. Thanos found new allies, the Black Order, and embarked on a new mission of galactic conquest, razing planets, demanding a tribute of the heads of youth between the ages of sixteen and twenty-two, or the annihilation of its inhabitants. When the Avengers left Earth in order to fight the Builders, Thanos saw the opportunity to raze a defenseless Earth. In actuality however, Thanos was using the demand for the tribute as a cover for his true objective, to kill his lost Inhuman-descendant son whose actual identity and location were unknown even to the Mad Titan, who knew only that he was an Inhuman. After the Inhumans denied the tribute to Corvus Glaive, Thanos personally visited Black Bolt in Attilan, who faced Thanos alone in an evacuated Attilan which he proceeded to detonate with a sonic scream in an attempt to kill Thanos. Black Bolt's attack destroyed Attilan in the process, but the Mad Titan emerged unscathed. Thanos soon noticed Black Bolt emerging from the rubble, who had detonated a Terrigen Bomb across Earth. Thanos fought Black Bolt demanding the location of his son, the Inhuman king refused to reveal the location, and Thanos finally knocked Black Bolt out in anger. After receiving intel from Proxima Midnight, who had in turn received it from Namor, that the Infinity Gems were in Wakanda, Thanos accompanied his armies to Wakanda in order to collect them. There, he discovered the secret hiding place of the Illuminati in the Necropolis, along with their stockpile of planet-destroying weapons and a prison housing Terrax, the Truly Enlightened and the Black Swan. Informed by Ebony Maw, Thanos headed to Greenland, where his lieutenant had found and trapped Thane, Thanos' son. When the Avengers arrived in Greenland in order to defeat Thanos, Ebony Maw double-crossed Thanos and freed Thane to let him fight his father. Thanos and Proxima Midnight were trapped by Thane in an amber construct which left them in a state of "living death." Thanos and Proxima were later transported to Necropolis. The Cabal Thanos, Corvus and Proxima were freed by Namor, who had had a falling outwith the Illuminati for destroying an alternate world during an Incursion, and joined his Cabal, in order to destroy another colliding Earth, as the Illuminati were willing to let both universes die. Time Runs Out Eight months after the formation of the Cabal, the Cabal had found some degree of legitimacy on Earth. The world stood by and allowed the Cabal to raze Wakanda, and claim the ruins as their base of operations. The Cabal continued to protect the universe by destroying colliding Earths, but Namor had grown weary and disgusted with the Cabal's habit of engaging in wholesale slaughter of the colliding Earth's population, as opposed to simply planting the bomb and leaving. Namor, now willing to turn himself in for his crimes, devised a plan with the Illuminati to destroy the Cabal. A new Incursion was on the horizon, one in which the incursive world had been ravaged by the Sidera Maris. Namor would lead the Cabal to said world, activate the anti-matter injector without their knowledge, and leave them to die with said Earth, preventing them from escaping with the use of an A.I.M. platform capable of creating an impenetrable barrier between the two colliding Earths. As the Cabal engaged the Sidera Maris in combat, Namor set his plan in motion. However, he was betrayed by Black Panther and Black Bolt, who pushed him off the platform into the soon-to-be-destroyed Earth. As the Cabal approached the fallen Namor, who lied about his intentions, they discovered an unusual event was occurring. The Earth they were in was, in addition, in an Incursion with another universe at the same time. Unable to return to Earth-616, the Cabal made their way to the second Incursion point, and escaped from the doomed planet into the third universe, the Ultimate Universe. Thanos and the Cabal befriend Earth-1610's Reed Richards. Reed introduces Thanos and Maximus to his world's Nick Fury and Hawkeye from S.H.I.E.L.D. so they could him Reed explain the Incursions. Thanos proceeds to explain that there are now only two universes left, Earth-1610 and Earth-616. He warns them that great heroes inhabit the other world, and that in order to save their own world they must find a way to kill these heroes. Thanos, Maximus and Namor later meet in private. Thanos inquires if the ship the Cabal plans to escape the incusion will be ready in time, and Maximus tells Thanos that it will but is hesitant to say whether it will work or not. Namor inquires if Nick Fury is going to play his part, and Thanos claims with certainty he will. Maximus however is not so sure, claiming that Fury is crafty and knows they're lying. Either way however, when the incursion happens, he believes Fury will have no choice but to do what they want. | Powers = By far the strongest and most powerful Titanian Eternal, Thanos is a superhuman mutant whose massive, heavy-bodied form was born with the capacity to synthesize cosmic energy for certain personal uses. Thanos has increased his powers through bionic amplification, mystical enhancement, and as a result of being resurrected by Death itself. Superhuman Intelligence: Possibly Thanos' most dangerous ability is his mind. Thanos' intellect is dedicated to enhancing his own powers and to the annihilation of all life. Thanos is a genius in virtually all known fields of advanced science and has created technology far exceeding contemporary Earth science. He has also shown to quickly adapt to new battle situations, as shown in his fight with the Champion of the Universe, who outclassed him physically and whom he beat by dancing around him, blasting him with energy attacks and tricking him into destroying the planet they fought on. Thanos has remarked that, compared to himself, Bruce Banner's intelligence is only great for human standards. Superhuman Strength: Thanos possesses vast superhuman strength the full limits of which aren't known. Death has increased his strength beyond their original limits to levels rivaling or surpassing those of the physically strongest Eternals. Thanos' strength is so vast he has destroyed entire planets with the simple force of his blows. He has proven capable of fighting Thor even when he had the Power Gem. His strength is so vast that he has been able to easily defeat the likes of the Silver Surfer, punch away an attacking Hulk, physically subduing with ease Beta Ray Bill and Ronan the Accuser (as well as casually breaking apart the latter's Universal Weapon) and, most impressively, wrestle with the mighty Tyrant, although only by being additionally empowered by an external power source. Thanos can also augment his strength with his cosmic energy when needed. Superhuman Speed: Despite his massive muscular bulk, Thanos is capable of running and moving at speeds greater than the finest human athlete. Superhuman Stamina: Thanos' musculature produces almost no fatigue toxins during physical activity. As a result, he has nearly superhuman stamina in all physical activities. Nigh Invulnerability: Before his "death", Thanos possessed an impressive degree of resistance to physical injury, even compared to other Eternals. After his resurrection, Death increased his ability to resist injury to a much greater degree and he is nigh invulnerable. He has withstood at point blank range planet destroying attacks without any harm. He has withstood blasts from the Silver Surfer unharmed. He withstood a battering from an enraged, Power Gem-wielding Thor with all but a bloody nose. He possesses such an incredible resistance to injury that he has been shown to survive point blank blasts from Odin and Galactus. Thanos recently withstood three full screams from Black Bolt, one at point blank range without any significant damage. He also survived being subjected to an artificial singularity. Immortality: Thanos, like all Eternals, is immortal in the sense that he is immune to all known diseases and infections and is immune to the effects of aging. Thanos was formerly banned by Death itself from entering its realm, rendering him truly immortal. No matter the severity of any injury, Thanos was unable to die and completely recovered. This ban has since been lifted. *''Accelerated Healing Factor:'' Despite his extraordinary durability, it is possible to injure Thanos. Like all Eternals, however, Thanos is capable of regenerating damaged tissue with much greater speed and efficiency than a human being. His healing powers aren't as developed as those of some Eternals. Some Eternals are capable of regenerating any destroyed tissue. Given the circumstances of his latest death, Thanos is unable to regenerate missing organs. Superhuman Agility: Despite his great size, Thanos' agility, balance, and bodily coordination are enhanced to levels that are beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. His agility is roughly equal to that of the average Eternal. Superhuman Reflexes: Thanos' reaction time is enhanced to a level that is beyond the natural physical limits of the finest human athlete. Like his agility, his reflexes are about average for an Eternal. Energy Manipulation & Control: Thanos has displayed great versatility in the use of his energy projection abilities. He has demonstrated the ability to project pure energy as a concussive force, "magnetic" energy, infrared heat-beams from his eyes, and disruptor beams, unilaterally striking separate targets with his optic blasts as well as use his use his mental link to his techo-mystical chair to form vastly powerful energy shields, barriers, and force-fields. The exact extent of Thanos' energy projection abilities are unknown, but his blasts have been capable of rendering the likes of Thor & The Hulk unconscious. He was also able to slightly damage Galactus' armor and blast the Devourer of Worlds off his feet. By collaborating with the In-Betweener they together released the latter from his prison created by Master Order and Lord Chaos. It has been speculated that the nature of Thanos' cosmic energy reserve may be quasi-mystical in nature. Telepathy: Thanos possesses psionic abilities. His mind is invulnerable to most forms of psychic attack. Thanos has demonstrated the ability to successfully defend himself against psychic assaults from Moondragon and Mantis. He also drove one of the Priests of Pama insane with a gesture, and made the Hulk attack his fellow Avengers. Matter Manipulation & Control: Thanos has demonstrated some ability to manipulate matter on the atomic level, similarly to other Earthborn Eternals. On one occasion, he turned the Skrull, Skragg into stone. Curse Casting: Thanos seems to be at least partially skilled in magic, evidence being him cursing Deadpool to be unable to die. Flight: After his fight with Star-Lord wielding the Mandalay Gem, Thanos was shown to fly self-propelled. Whether he recently acquired this ability or if he uses technical equipment for it hasn't been revealed yet. Teleportation: Thanos can teleport himself across unknown distances through his link with his techno-mystical transport chair. When stranded in space with Terraxia, he could neither fly, nor teleport to his rescue, presumably because his chair got destroyed in the struggle before. | Abilities = Although he typically avoids physical combat, Thanos is a highly formidable hand to hand combatant. He is particularly skillful at using a combination of his physical and energy manipulative abilities during combat. He also has great knowledge of arcane and mystical lore. | Strength = Class 100+ | Weaknesses = | Equipment = Robotic Drones: Thanos has designed several different types of robotic drones to serve his needs. These drones carry out many functions, including maintenance, manual labor, record-keeping, and security. These robots come in many shapes and sizes dependent on their purpose. Time Machine: Thanos has been shown to have possessed a time machine, which he referred to as a "Time Probe". The present-day status of this machine is unknown. | Transportation = Thanos has access to his own fleet of starships which have included: * Space Throne * Sanctuary * Dreadnaught-666 * Demeter | Weapons = *'Stasis Rifle': An experimental weapon capable of generating a cube of pure force, which envelops the target and places them into near-complete physical stasis. This stasis cube was capable of holding the insane, power-gem enhanced Thunder-God Thor. The experimental version of this weapon carried charge enough for only one blast. * Infinity Gauntlet (formerly): A gauntlet specifically designed to hold the Infinity Gems. With this item, he was nigh omnipotent. ** Space Gem ** Soul Gem ** Reality Gem ** Power Gem ** Time Gem ** Mind Gem | Notes = * Despite being an Eternal, the Deviant Syndrome he was born with makes him look more like a Deviant in appearance. * Once a year, Thanos and his brother Eros call a truce and meet to exchange gifts. * Marvel's Executive Editor Tom Brevoort has stated that "Marvel Universe: The End" (including the "Heart of Infinity") is not in any way a part of official Marvel continuity. http://brevoortformspring.tumblr.com/post/107750758608/wait-a-second-wait-a-second-i-just-saw-on | Trivia = *Thanos' name comes from the Greek personification of Death Thanatos. | Wikipedia = Thanos | Links = * Thanos (Earth-616) at marveldirectory.com * Thanos (Earth-616) at corvusonline.net * * }} Notable Appearances * - First Appearance * * * * Category:Nova Villains Category:Telepaths Category:Teleporters Category:Telepathic Immunity Category:Strength Class 100 Category:Superhuman Reflexes Category:Superhuman Agility Category:Superhuman Stamina Category:Invulnerability Category:Superhuman Speed Category:Immortals Category:Self Sustenance Category:Geniuses Category:Matter Manipulation Category:Magicians Category:Formerly Deceased Category:Killed by Drax Category:Avengers Villains Category:Iron Man Villains Category:Thor Villains Category:Silver Surfer Villains Category:Captain Marvel Villains Category:Fantastic Four Villains Category:Post-M-Day Mutants (Non-Human) Category:Guardians of the Galaxy Villains Category:Eternal Mutants Category:Deadpool Villains Category:Optic Blasts Category:Energy Manipulation Category:Leaders Category:Squirrel Girl Villains Category:Transmutation Category:Magic-Based Mutates Category:Genetically Engineered Category:Sam Alexander Villains Category:Regeneration Category:Killed by Star-Lord Category:Warlords Category:Inhumans Villains Category:Thanos (Earth-616)/Quotes Category:Legally Deceased Category:Former Deities Category:Interdimensional Travelers